Luis Scott-Vargas is headed for the top, but Simon Görtzen isn’t about to step aside.

Görtzen drew his card and started debating his plays. Ultimately, he ended up dropping a Bloodbraid Elf onto the battlefield, which summoned a Sprouting Thrinax to its side. Scott-Vargas’s Mob got mobbier during his upkeep, and he felt it was time to start sending the team. He activated a Stirring Wildwood, sending it in alongside the Ranger, Nacatl, and Scute Mob. When Görtzen double blocked the bugs with his Thrinax and Elf, Scott-Vargas chose to deny Görtzen any tokens, instead assigning all the damage to the Bloodbraid Elf. After combat, he added his second Nacatl to the team and passed the turn.

Görtzen wasn’t to be denied his tokens, and he recruited a Siege-Gang Commander to his team to replenish his stock of blockers. Unfortunately for him, the quality of Scott-Vargas’s attackers was so high that his creatures really ended up being nothing more than fodder for a turn. This time, Scott-Vargas sent Raging Ravine in with the team instead of Stirring Wildwood, and Görtzen was forced to block with all of his creatures just to stay alive. His Siege-Gang Commander jumped in front of the Ranger of Eos, and the Thrinax teamed up with a token to take down the Ravine. A simple Noble Hierarch from Scott-Vargas emptied his hand and sent the turn back to Görtzen, who was sitting on 2 life, but still had a number of cards in his hand.

Görtzen once again hit a Thrinax off of a Bloodbraid Elf, filling his board with an endless stream of blockers. When he aimed a Maelstrom Pulse at Scott-Vargas’s Wild Nacatl, he appeared to be ready to assume control of the game. Scott-Vargas’s only permanents were lands, the Collar, and a Noble Hierarch. Unfazed, Scott-Vargas simply untapped, drew his card, and flipped over the Lightning Bolt he had just drawn, and within five seconds, Görtzen was scooping up his cards.

Running hot indeed.

Luis Scott-Vargas 1, Simon Görtzen 0

“I definitely think I had the more powerful cards that game, but you winning the die roll was important,” Görtzen admitted.

“Yeah, not having the Lightning Bolt for the Nacatl was like 9 extra damage.”

After discussing how great it was that two old dogs like them could still be playing at the top levels of Magic, they presented their decks for Game 2.

Game 2

Scott-Vargas got another quick start, with a Wild Nacatl and a Stoneforge Mystic to fetch a Behemoth Sledge from his deck. Unfortunately, he failed to play a third land on the following turn. Görtzen’s lands were a little more forthcoming, and he was able to drop a Thrinax into play on his third turn. Scott-Vargas was able to use the Mystic to put the Sledge into play at the end of Görtzen’s turn, but his lack of mana prevented him from equipping it.

Görtzen and his Goblins.

At the end of Görtzen’s turn, Scott-Vargas tried to fix his mana problems by casting Path to Exile on his own Mystic, but Görtzen denied him by using a Lightning Bolt to finish it off first. When Scott-Vargas managed to draw a land on the following turn and tried to equip Wild Nacatl with Behemoth Sledge, Görtzen aimed a second Bolt at the Nacatl. When Görtzen added a Broodmate Dragon on his turn, Scott-Vargas threw in the towel.

Luis Scott-Vargas 1, Simon Görtzen 1

Game 3

For the third game in a row, Scott-Vargas opened with a one drop, this time his one-of Noble Hierarch. This allowed him to drop a second-turn Behemoth Sledge, which the Hierarch looked eager to get a chance to pick up. Unfortunately, it was hit by a Lightning Bolt before it could even try. Making things worse, Scott-Vargas’s mana base at that time consisted of just two Forests, and, when he played a Mountain on the following turn, it became clear that not having access to white mana might become an issue.

Scott-Vargas added the first of his Nacatls to his side, opting to use his second green mana to fix his mana with a Birds of Paradise. Görtzen didn’t wait for anything. Lightning Bolt fried the Birds. Bloodbraid Elf killed the Nacatl. He even got to Bloodbraid Elf into a Deathmark to remove Scott-Vargas’s lone creature. Like 17 other opponents had to him over the course of the weekend, Scott-Vargas smiled and extended his hand.